Abu Dhabi: Total deals signed during 2015 International Defence Exhibition & Conference, or Idex, came to about Dh18.328 billion, the highest since the event started since the early 1990s, organisers said on the concluding day of the event on Thursday,

The biggest deal signed on Thursday included the sale of two military aircraft, type C-17 by the Boeing company to the UAE Armed Forces at an estimated value of Dh2.273 billion.

Other contracts signed by the UAE army included supply of ammunition by the International Golden Group at a cost of Dh67 million and a deal of Dh19 million with Etihad Ship building to raise the capacity of naval forces.

There has been an increase of more than Dh4 billion when compared to 2013 edition of Idex in the number of deals signed by the UAE army. In 2013, the total value of contracts was about Dh14.1 billion.

“It is the highest since we started Idex. This is according our requirements which is increasing,” said Major General Obaid Al Ketbi, chairman of the Organising committee of Idex.

Hundreds of international defence companies took part in the five-day event held at Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre. Idex this year saw more than 100,000 visitors and 159 delegates participating in the event, according to the event’s organisers. They said that about 50 per cent of the space for the next edition of Idex has already been reserved.

“There has been a tremendous interest by companies to participate in the event. Idex has become a major platform for defence industry,” Al Ketbi said. “We want to have an industrial defence base in the UAE. Increasingly we are seeing marked growth in the capabilities of UAE companies in defence technology, either home grown or in partnership with international organisations.”

Unmanned Systems Exhibition will be annual event from next year, the organisers said, adding that the next event of Unmanned Systems Exhibition will be held in 2016 from February 21 to 25.

For the first time, 33 local and international companies from 13 countries took part in the Unmanned Systems Exhibition. Companies said they see a big potential for opportunities in the unmanned technologies segment in the region.

A top executive from the US-based Lockheed Martin said the Middle East is a growing market, “We are in the process of reaching out to many. We are in the final stage of several orders,” said James Hedges, country director of Lockheed Martin for Jordan, Iraq, UAE and Pakistan, in an interview with Gulf News.

This year’s event featured pavilions from Russia, UAE, USA, UK, Germany, France, China, Italy, South Africa and a number of other countries. More than 1,000 international companies showcased their products.

The Russian pavilion, which is organised by the State Corporation, Rostec, featured more than 700 weapons systems and military equipment for the army, air force, naval forces and air defence command.

“Rostec is already implementing a number of civilian projects in the UAE and now new opportunities are arising for mutually beneficial cooperation in the defence field,” said Sergey Chemezov, General Director, Rostec Corporation.

The US had the biggest pavilion in terms of area occupied, with a number of US based companies including Boeing, Lockheed Martin and Oshkosh Corporation having taken part in the event.